


The Last To Know

by KuriQuinn



Series: The Legacy of Fire [11]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto)-centric, Drama, F/M, Forgiveness, Friendship, Gen, Sakura has no time for your shit, Team as Family, broken trust, no more little white gloves, talk no jutsu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2017-09-29
Packaged: 2019-01-07 00:38:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12222207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KuriQuinn/pseuds/KuriQuinn
Summary: As usual, telling her the truth happens as though by afterthought. And this time, she's not taking it.





	The Last To Know

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:**  This story utilises characters, situations and premises that are copyright Masashi Kishimoto, Shueisha, Shonen Jump and Viz media. No infringement on their respective copyrights pertaining to episodes, novelisations, comics or short stories is intended by KuriQuinn in any way, shape or form. This fan-oriented story is written solely for the author's own amusement and the entertainment of the readers. It is not for profit. Any resemblance to real organizations, institutions, products or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
> 
> **All plot and Original Characters except for those introduced in the canon books, manga, video games, novelizations and anime, are the sole creation of KuriQuinn. (© KuriQuinn 2016- )**
> 
> **Warning:**   _Spoiler_ s for pretty much everything up to  _Sasuke Shinden._
> 
> **Canon-Compliance:**  As close to canon as fanfiction can possibly be. With a few personal additions :P Takes place during the Blank Period.
> 
> **Beta Reader:** Sakura's Unicorn

The sun is just beginning to set on the horizon, dipping into the calm water of Konoha's tiny river harbour. Sakura sighs, slumping back on the bench overlooking the bluff, imagining the tension draining out of her.

Her feet ache, her eyes are itchy from the mascara she dearly wants to wash off, and her stomach grumbles. As she dreams of the comforting softness of her bed, she tries to find the energy to stand.

_Who knew that a bureaucratic position would be more physically and mentally draining than active duty?_

She really should go home, but she knows the minute that she steps through the door, her mother will fret over her. Asking questions about the day, nagging her for not taking care of herself, wondering about her plans for the week, and Sakura just wants…

Sakura just wants silence.

She didn't realise it when she was younger, but there's something comforting about being alone.

"Sakura."

She almost jumps three feet in the air at the sound of her name, having thought she was utterly alone.  _"Ahh!"_

Beside her, Sasuke appears to have materialised out of thin air. Knowing him, he probably did. Sakura scrambles to her feet to face him, eyes flicking over his taller, gaunter form. He no longer walks around wearing a cape and turban, but there is something about him that still speaks of a vagabond.

"Sas—Sasuke," she stammers, flustered, wrong-footed and instantly reduced to her self-conscious younger self. Honestly, she thought she was over this! "What are you…what are you doing here?"

She curses herself, wondering if it sounds like she's criticising him for approaching her. He's been home for a week, and this isn't the first time they've seen each other since he walked through the village gates, and yet, she still must fight down the temptation to pinch herself whenever they interact. She dreamed of his return for so long that his presence stubbornly retains a dreamlike quality to it. Worse, she's not quite sure how to speak to him normally.

Then there's the fact that their relationship is—

_Well_ , she thinks to herself,  _I'm not even sure there_ is _a relationship._

She suspects there's something between them that is deeper than friendship, but beyond that she has no idea. Though she can read him easily in some ways, in others—especially the ways that concern her heart—he's as mysterious as ever.

"Sai was looking up information for me with his old contacts," Sasuke tells her, a little to her surprise as he rarely volunteers information. "He said he would meet me here this evening."

Sakura frowns. "That's weird. I ran into him on my way here. He was heading home with Ino and, uh, he didn't look like he had any intention of going anywhere for the next few hours."

_Or possibly days, knowing those two_ , she adds mentally, remembering her friends exchanging looks of such simmering heat that Sakura blushed when she saw it. There was very little question of what they were planning when they got home.

Sasuke frowns at this—whether in displeasure or because he catches the innuendo, she isn't sure—and says, "Hm."

"I bet it just slipped his mind," Sakura says, an apology in her tone. It's almost second nature for her now, apologising for Sai's lack of social etiquette. "I'm sure he'll find you tomorrow."

"It's no matter. I'll go to his house," Sasuke replies, turning to leave.

Sakura's eyes widen.  _Definitely missed the innuendo, then!_

She trips over her tongue to say, "I-I-I wouldn't do that, Sasuke!"

He pauses, turning incrementally to consider her, visible eyebrow creased in question. Clearly, he's awaiting an explanation.

"I mean, it's probably not the best idea right now since he and Ino, uh, are sort of in their honeymoon phase."

"Their h—" Sasuke repeats, and his eyes widen fractionally. He looks away quickly. "I see."

"But it's not a total waste of trip for you, right?" she asks quickly, trying to change the subject. "We might...hang out? I haven't seen you in a few days, and both times Naruto's been around to—"  _Act as a buffer_. "—be the centre of attention. It's hard to get a word in edgewise, and I've…I've been thinking about you." Running over that sentence in her head, she panics again, and adds, "I mean, about how you're doing since you've been back! How're you settling in?" She nervously tucks her hair behind her ear. "I know it's a change and everything, being back."

"I'll survive," Sasuke tells her shortly.

Sakura waits a beat for him to continue, then realises he doesn't intend to, and tries not to let her shoulders slump so visibly. "Oh."

Maybe he notices because his blank expression smooths a little.

"I thought it would be worse," he confesses, almost cautiously. "But it's…not been too much of a burden."

"Really?" she perks up. That's actually high praise coming from Sasuke.

"Hm." A barely noticeable nod. "And it's not as if it's permanent."

The momentary brightness leaves her.

"What do you mean, not permanent?" she wants to know, a sinking feeling already forming in her gut. "I thought…I thought you were back now?"

"A final decision hasn't been made yet," he tells her, shifting in what might be discomfort. "I may not stay in the village. Kakashi said there are jobs outside that need doing, or which require people with certain skills. That may be…more fitting."

Sakura's chest feels like it's been on the receiving end of one of Tsunade's punches. The hope she's been entertaining of Sasuke and her future since he returned freezes.

"I thought that you would stay from now on," she says carefully, and when this doesn't register, she adds in a softer voice, more to herself than him, "I guess it was just wishful thinking."

She's been telling herself for months that she will not wait for him anymore. She wrote him a letter to tell him the same thing. It seems he took her words to heart, and she's torn between taking them back or sticking to them.

Sasuke appears to notice her distress, however much she tries to hide it, because he shifts to look down at her now, both eyes visible as they bore into her own.

"This has nothing to do with you," he tells her, like a reminder. "I…have to see if I can even live in the village myself."

"Why?" she asks, not able to hide her upset anymore. She decides not to beat around the bush. "Do you really not believe us when we say we've forgiven you? Or is it that you still haven't forgiven yourself?"

"That's not the whole issue. It's more complicated than that."

"Complicated how? How is this complicated?"

"Sakura," he begins, and she detects a note of frustration there that she hasn't heard in years. "You know why I can't—People don't—the Elders…" He trails off, scowling—she's not sure if it's at her or himself—like he's trying to get the words out and can't put them in the right order.

"The Elders?" she demands. "What do they have to do with any of this?"

"You  _know_  what they have to do with this," he snaps.

"Who cares what they think?" she counters. "You're a hero, and the entire world knows that. The entire village! And so what if some people are not sure what to make of you, everyone knows how you helped save us all!"

"I'm not talking about this with you," he tells her firmly, and turns to leave. "I would've thought you'd understand."

"Understand what?" she cries at his retreating back, fear and anger spiking because  _she is not doing this again!_ She refuses to stare at his departing back any more in her life. "Sasuke! Don't walk away! I'm trying to understand, but you're just getting angry, and I don't know why!"

"You  _do_ know why!" he snarls, whirling around, and though he doesn't have his Sharingan active, she suspects it's simmering beneath the surface of those fathomless eyes of his.

Maybe that's why she can't stop her flinch.

He notices it, because of course he does, and then stills. It's as if his anger drains out of him as quickly as it came. As the seconds pass by, staring at each other, an expression of dawning comprehension passes over his face. Followed by wonder, confusion and astonishment.

"You… _don't_  know," he says slowly, and it's both a question and a statement.

"I just said that," she agrees, equally slow. Then it's her that makes a confused face. "Know what?"

"Naruto didn't… He and Kakashi never told you," he says, quiet, like he's processing a difficult realisation.

"Tell me what?" she whispers. A familiar sense of dismay creeps over her, although now it has nothing to do with the man standing before her. Instead, a childhood fear is coming back to haunt her with a vengeance. When Sasuke doesn't answer, she steels her tone, lacing it with warning, and repeats, "Tell me  _what_ , Sasuke?"

He stares at her for several seconds, considering, and then motions for her to sit down. She's so surprised by the gesture, which is utterly uncharacteristic and considerate for Sasuke, that she does.

Later, she'll realise consideration had nothing to do with it.

Because when he quietly, haltingly, tells her the truth behind his brother and the Uchiha massacre, she feels fairly confident that her knees would have given out beneath her had he told her while she was standing. As it is, Sakura feels sick. The truths that Sasuke reveals wash over her, each horrible syllable falling on her heart like a searing iron. Everything about Itachi, Danzō, the Elders, the cover-up—the darkest secret in Konoha's history.

Little by little, she begins to understand the reason he lost his mind all those years ago. The facts that burned within him like fire, extinguishing reason and sense and bonds, driving him to the height of darkness in the final weeks and months leading to the war. It's as if she's finally found the missing piece of a puzzle, one that she gave up looking for.

Sasuke's final words to her before he left on his journey of redemption finally make sense to her, and she understands how much she couldn't have understood then.

How much she can never  _really_  understand.

She wants to throw up, wants to cry and whisper apologies, even though she knows they would be meaningless. Wants to rage and rant, expel her fury in some way. And yet, in the back of her mind, she is conscious of the fact that Sasuke revealing this to her is a big deal. Sharing this with her, when he has never shared anything about himself or his family unless there was bloodshed involved, is a step she never thought he might take.

She cherishes that trust, wants to put him at ease. With her patients, the best way to do that is a smile, and yet she can't because she knows it would be fake. Sasuke would notice. He was always the first to notice when her smiles were fake, even if he never commented on it. And so, she can only watch him with the sympathy of one who can never truly understand. There are no words she can offer, nothing she can say to make this right, and they both know it.

Sasuke pauses then, weighing the silence between them as he concludes his macabre testimony. It is as if he's trying to decide if he has left anything else out. The drawn, carefully blank expression on his face is the same one he always wears when trying to stay distant, like he's treating the dark secrets of his family's legacy as a mission report.

Her heart aches that he has to do this, he has to talk about his family as if it's something separate from him, because it hurts him. Sakura reaches out then, unable to stop herself, and before he can pull away, she puts her arms around him. She draws him close, fitting her chin on his shoulder and pressing them chest to chest. He'll no doubt shrug her off, because he never liked to be touched, but this is the only comfort she knows how to offer in the absence of words.

To her surprise, though, Sasuke relaxes. For a moment, she even imagines that he leans into her, like he's not only given her permission to comfort him but given himself permission to accept it. They stay like that several moments longer before he does pull away.

Clearing his throat, he rises to his feet.

"I should go," he says, all business once again. "If Sai is indisposed, I have to get my information another way."

He takes a few steps before she finds her voice.

"Sasuke?" she asks, and he pauses. "Thank you. For…for telling me. I know it couldn't have been easy. And the fact that you trust me with this, it…it's a lot…"

For a wonder he turns slightly, inclining his face toward hers. She manages to muster up a smile. It's small and wobbly and sad, but at least it's genuine. His eyes track the movement, studying her face, then he nods and continues on his way without another word.

When he is gone, Sakura's smile fades and her eyes narrow. Then, she turns on her heel and heads back into the heart of the village, all earlier fatigue gone.

サクラ

Sakura takes her time heading to the Hokage's office, going over what she intends to say once she's standing before her former teacher and teammate. She plans to ask in a mature manner, to learn the whole story from them as well. Kakashi, being Hokage, likely has access to records about the incident. He can clarify certain points she's having trouble with, and if Naruto is around, he can…

She swallows, a stabbing pain in her throat, her heart beating a rapid rhythm against her neck, a rushing in her ears as a horrible truth looms over her. It pales in comparison to what Sasuke told her about his brother and his family's deaths, and yet, it's making her lungs constrict and her stomach rebel once again.

She's angry and helpless; she doesn't know how to help Sasuke, or who to be mad at. She needs to do something, even though it's all in the past and can't be fixed. But there  _is_  something that she can deal with right now. Something that she thought was dealt with long ago. Something Sasuke's confession has revealed to her that it wasn't.

_No_ , she tells herself firmly.  _Breathe. Keep emotions in check. I'm not a little girl anymore. I'm a_ shinobi _._

As she walks into the Tower, she remains calm and composed. Perhaps the clerks and civil servants scurrying around might note her unusual lack of smile, but they don't sense the slowly unravelling ball of emotion hidden inside. Her presence is common enough here that no one expects her to make an appointment, and she walks into Kakashi's office without even having to knock at the door.

Everything is, so far, going according to plan.

Until she looks around the room and sees Kakashi going over mission briefs with Naruto, who is complaining loudly, the way he always does. And for them, today is no different from any other day. They are coping and living with the knowledge Sasuke has imparted to her without another thought.

And that's when her plans go out the window.

Literally.

It happens too fast for her to be entirely aware of herself. One minute, she's closing the door behind her, and the next, her fist is colliding with Kakashi's chest.

She curbed her strength—mostly—so he shouldn't have any damage that a competent healer couldn't fix, but it's too fast for him to get a substitution to take the full brunt of her blow. He and his chair go flying through the windows and wall behind him, throwing up a huge plume of dust.

"What the hell, Sakura?!" Naruto cries, grabbing hold of her from behind. The air around him crackles, like he isn't sure whether he should be entering his Tailed Beast Chakra Mode or not.

She shrugs him off with ease. Distantly, it occurs to her that she may have committed treason for assaulting the Hokage, but somehow, she can't seem to care

"Three years," she replies in a cold, furious voice.

"…huh?"

"Three years, you've been lying to me."

"What are you talking about?!"

"The Uchiha," she bites out through clenched teeth. " _Itachi_  Uchiha."

Naruto doesn't understand right away, but as the seconds of silence tick by, he begins to pale with realisation. "Sakura, we couldn't—"

"Don't."

"The fewer people who knew—"

"Don't you fucking dare," she growls.

"Sakura." Kakashi has popped back into existence beside them, looking a little bruised, and eyes more sombre than she's seen in a while. He waves a dismissive hand at several ANBU who are peeking inside until the three of them are standing alone. He waits until they are gone before continuing, "This was to protect the peace of the village."

" _To protect murderers_ ," she spits.

"If you think about it, we didn't lie to you," Naruto begins, "we just didn't—"

" _Don't. Lie. To Me. Again."_

Kakashi sighs. "The  _omission_  was necessary, especially so soon after the war."

"Maybe if I was finding this out a few months after the war, I'd believe that," Sakura says, still deadly quiet and trembling. "But it's been years, Kakashi."

"This wasn't a piece of gossip, Sakura, it involved the security and stability of Konoha."

" _Did you expect that I was going to tell someone?"_ she snarls. "Me? I'm the last person who would reveal  _anything_  that could harm Sasuke or Konoha in any way!"

"Sakura—"

"I am the  _only_  student you ever trained that had the necessary skills and steadfastness to achieve jōnin rank," she goes on, drowning him out. "Apprentice to the Fifth Hokage which, I'm sure  _you_  of all people know, requires a certain amount of discretion. Head of Konoha's hospital. Personnel and patient files are all rather confidential, wouldn't you say?"

"Sak—"

"Hell, long before any of that, I was kidnapped and beaten for information while my idiot teammates were nowhere to be found and I didn't give it up because  _I would rather die first!"_ she bites out. "If your justification is that you thought I was too much of a  _security_  risk to tell me that the village—"

"We never said that!" Naruto protests loudly.

"YOU LET ME BELIEVE A LIE FOR THREE YEARS!" Sakura's voice cracks painfully and she swallows, having difficulty breathing for a moment. Tears threaten to fall, but she fights them back, because today of all days will not be the day that she cries. Because she is Sakura Fucking Haruno, and the twelve-year-old weepy child she used to be has been nothing but a memory for years now. "You let me think Sasuke was…"

"Sakura—"

"He thought I knew already," she whispers, and watches them both freeze. "He thought you two told me. You know why he might've thought that?" Naruto's expression is aggrieved, Kakashi's resigned. They know what she's about to say. "Because you're my friends. Before we're teammates or compatriots, or students and teacher…we're friends." She inhales shakily. "And he thought you would've told me the truth. Never even occurred to him that you wouldn't. That I wouldn't have all the same information that you both did.  _Because we were friends."_

"We  _are_  friends!" Naruto protests.

"Are we?"

"We were trying to protect you."

" _I don't need your fucking protection!"_ Sakura shouts, managing to keep her volume down this time, but only just. "I am not a little girl anymore! I've watched men bleed to death in front of my eyes and held beating hearts in my fingers, trying to fix them! I am a hero to villages that don't even have names. I am the reason half of the people in  _this_  village aren't dead or orphaned! I have birthed babies, and killed assassins, and walked into battle to fight by your side, so don't you  _dare_  try to tell me you still think I need to be protected!"

"Of course, we don't—"

"I tried to kill the man I love with because I thought he had to be stopped for his own safety, as well as the safety of others, without even questioning why. And there was an actual  _reason_  for what he did, and it wasn't just because of some thousand-year-old curse!" she cries. "He tried to kill  _me_  because he thought I knew and was in on it! And we both have to live with that memory now!  _Forever!"_

"Your relationship with Sasuke doesn't give you clearance to know all the village's secrets, Sakura. Even Naruto isn't privy to all of them—even I'm not, sometimes," Kakashi says quietly, clearly trying to keep some sense of his position. And while she understands that, she still resents it.

"But Naruto could know about this?" she challenges. "A genin who failed every test related to secrecy and subterfuge that we ever took, before he became the village hero?"

"Hey!" Naruto says in an injured tone.

"You're trying to subtly remind me about keeping this impersonal," she continues. "Fine. Then let me point out that, according to the village rules, your successor is a shinobi of a lower rank than I am—saviour of the world or not. As his superior, you're not according me the respect and merit of my station. The information I received today is something I should've known since I became a jōnin because my job is to protect the village from threats. Not knowing has kept me from pursuing that purpose."

Kakashi's eyes narrow. "I'm not sure I follow."

"Why have the Elders not been removed from their positions?" she counters. Naruto frowns in confusion at the segue, but Kakashi follows without a problem.

"Sakura," he begins, a warning note in his voice.

"No," she cuts him off. "If Danzō planned all of it, they knew. And they didn't stop him. People  _died_ , Kakashi!  _Our_  people, and one of our own was forced to do it! Do you think a pretty plaque in a graveyard makes up for that? That is  _not_  justice."

"It's more complicated than that."

"Because they continue to be involved!" she snaps. "How many times has their behaviour led to more problems that've almost destroyed Konoha from  _within_? For fuck's sake, we never needed to worry about outside enemies with them around! And yet, they retain their positions, their income, and the respect of the village, while Itachi is just a name carved on a block of stone. And Sasuke is going to spend the rest of his life a pariah because he was trying to get justice for what they allowed to happen?"

"Sakura—"

"No, I'm not done," she interrupts. "Everyone thinks Itachi's being honoured because of what he did when he was resurrected by the  _Edo Tensei_ —and don't even get me  _started_  on how dangerous men like Kabuto and Orochimaru have all-but been pardoned for their actions after everything _._ But the truth about Itachi goes deeper than that! If Sasuke's brother hadn't acted, Konoha would've been reduced to ashes thirteen years ago! It's  _his_  name that should be taught in our schools or put up on statues, not Danzō or the Elders or the people who almost caused the destruction in the first place!"

"I don't disagree with you on any of those points," Kakashi sighs. "But they can't, Sakura. For the sake of peace. If people thought that those in positions of power in the village—the same individuals they put their trust in to protect them—could be capable of what they did, it would destabilise the government. We may be in a recovery period, but it's still fragile enough that I'm not sure we could survive if that happened. I'm sure you understand this."

She clenches her fists, frowning at him, because her logical mind knows that he's right about that point, at least.

"Something still has to be done," she insists.

"And it will," Kakashi promises. "But it will take time. I can work within the shadows and make the political moves necessary, but the push for change has to come from the people. Between you and Naruto, I'm sure you can figure something out. But it won't happen overnight. It could be months, or it could be decades. It's what's known as a long game."

She crosses his arms.

"We'll figure something out," Naruto repeats, in a soft, placating voice. And though she knows he means it, and that he probably won't rest until this problem is fixed, the discord in her heart doesn't abate.

"None of that excuses the fact that neither of you told me the truth," she replies. "And Kakashi…I can understand you not saying anything. But  _you_ , Naruto?"

"It wasn't… We weren't sure if…" Naruto hedges, while Kakashi just looks uncomfortable.

That ever-growing suspicion sets in with a bitter twist in her gut.

"You didn't think Sasuke wanted me to know," she realises. Her voice feels very far away from her when she asks, "Why? Because of village secrecy? His pride? Or because he doesn't care about me the way I care about him?"

"No!" Naruto cries. "That's not it at all!"

"I know our connection isn't as strong as the one between you two," she admits, the words scraping against her throat as she says them. She's always suspected Sasuke had more regard for Naruto than her, but to have it confirmed that others think the same is still a difficult pill to swallow. "I might not be the reincarnation of his family, but I am his friend. And if I never have anything else, I'll always have that. And on that fact alone, if you two knew…I should have, too."

"We thought you were better off not knowing," Kakashi says. "You're a healer, Sakura. You want to make people feel better. And this is something you can't heal. We've both seen how you take it to heart when you can't help. We believed we were sparing you that."

"Again with the protecting me bit?" she questions, shaking her head. All of a sudden, the fight goes out of her. "I see. To you, I will never be anything but that little girl who trailed after everyone like a puppy." She clenches her eyes tight, still fighting back angry tears. "How can you say you're my friends, if you can't trust me with information like this? Sasuke did. If the person who has distanced himself from me for my entire life can show me that respect, why can't you two?"

She turns to leave.

"Sakura, don't go!" Naruto cries. "Let's talk about this!"

"No. You should've talked before," she retorts. "Now,  _you're_  going to wait for  _me_  to decide to talk to you. I…need some time to think about this. And about what it means for my future."

"Your future?" Kakashi echoes.

"I need to decide if I want to continue to serve a village that doesn't trust me with something so vital," she whispers, "and if I should keep friends who don't, either."

Before either of them can stop her, she uses a  _Shushin_  to escape the stifling office.

サクラ

Sakura is shaking after she leaves the Hokage's office, both with anger and a little fear.

She's nervous about her outburst, keeps running over the entire thing in her head. She's never lost control like that, not really. Even when Kakashi was her instructor and did things she was critical of. Even with Naruto. They've had arguments, but she's never…

She's never attacked her teacher in anger before. And she's never lost her temper to the point of vulgarity.

_Did I go too far?_ Sakura wonders, rubbing her upper arms self-consciously.  _Or not far enough?_

Sakura has always been guided by her heart and what feels right to her. It's only in recent years, being so close to Lady Tsunade and the running of the village, that she's had to think more with her head.

_And I never was really good at that anyhow_ , she thinks glumly. Images come back to her of a bridge and a knife, hateful scarlet eyes and a woman with glasses bleeding out in front of her. Every time she has tried to make a decision where her head and her heart disagreed, no good has come of it.

Right now, her heart insists she did right, but her brain keeps running over all the logical arguments against her actions. She hasn't felt so conflicted since the war, and it's dizzying. She needs to take a step back from it somehow, to release the growing, painful pressure inside her before bursts.

Her first instinct is to go to Ino, but she knows she can't. As yet, this is all still utterly secret. She can't reveal anything about Itachi to Ino. She could, however, mention being kept in the dark by her other former teammates.

Except...

Except her best friend is at home with Sai right now, enjoying newly-married life. Sai, too, is one of Sakura's closest friends, so she doesn't want to overshadow his newfound happiness with her black mood. Especially considering his own past—he deserves as much uncomplicated joy as life has to offer him.

Sakura's mother would be her next choice. But the thing is, Mebuki Haruno has a blind spot when it comes to Kakashi and Naruto. Considering Kakashi is the Hokage and Naruto is the hero that saved them all, she's taken on a tendency to agree with them about everything. And she knows Sakura well enough to infer that Sasuke is somehow involved. Mebuki has never been overly fond of Sasuke after he defected from Konoha, to put things mildly.

_She'd say they were right to keep it from me,_ Sakura thinks, clenching her fists. She can't blame her mother, not really. A parent's duty is to protect their child. Mebuki's feelings on the matter would be totally justified simply because she's never been on the frontlines or fought beside Sakura. Intellectually, her parents know what Sakura is capable of, but they've never seen it first-hand. And they weren't there to see the obstacles she's overcome to achieve the power she has now. Not in the way Naruto and Kakashi were. They are the people who should know better, and yet…they still don't.

_Lady Tsunade would set them straight,_ Sakura thinks angrily.  _She would know_ _…_  A horrible thought occurs to her.  _Did Lady Tsunade know_?

She's the Fifth Hokage, and she's a Senju. It would make sense for her to know what happened. And what Tsunade knows, Shizune usually knows as well, at least in Sakura's experience. If they were both privy to the information, is there any chance they might not have told Sakura? Lady Tsunade has always shared Sakura's mother's opinions about Sasuke, and she can be just as overprotective.

_No. No, they would've told me,_ Sakura insists. Based on what Sasuke said, only a handful of people ever knew the truth. Only Lord Third, Danzō Shimura and Obito Uchiha. The latter was the reason Naruto found out, along with Kakashi and Yamato. They were on the way to the Kage meeting when Obito, still masquerading as Tobi, let them in on the secret. Sakura remembers all too well that, during that time, Lady Tsunade was out of commission.

_Besides, she never got along with the Elders or Danz_ _ō_ _. She_ _'_ _s the last person they would've told about this, even before the attack on Konoha. If she didn_ _'_ _t think to look into the matter, she wouldn_ _'_ _t know_ , Sakura reasons.  _So Shizune wouldn't know either._

Unless, at the end of the war, there was some sort of meeting to agree on keeping Itachi's deeds and Konoha's involvement in the massacre from public knowledge.

_In that case there's a very small chance_ _…_

That pained feeling in her chest and throat is back, like a knife. Sakura tries hard not to feel the mounting sense of betrayal, but it's hard. She wishes more than anything that she could go to her mentor right now and ask her about it. But Tsunade is out of the village on one of her gambling binges, while Shizune's spending a few days at Konoha's orphanage, trying to make sure all the children are up-to-date on their vaccines and physicals (and because she still doesn't trust Kabuto, probably to keep an eye on him). Both are too far away to ask.

Under normal circumstances, this would be the point where Sakura goes to talk to Naruto or Kakashi but considering they're both contributing factors in the whole situation, it's not an option.

As for Sasuke…

_No._

She can't bring this up to him, not after he entrusted her with such a horrible truth. Her feelings of being kept in the dark cannot compare to what he endured, and bringing this situation up to him now feels disrespectful. As if her pain at being left out once more could ever mean anything in the face of what he lost? She's not so arrogant as to think she matters that much in the big scheme of things.

_This shouldn't be hitting me so hard_ , she chides herself. After all, it is in the past, and isn't this time of recovery all about forgiving the sins of the past and working toward a better future? She should just shrug this off as a  _fait accompli_  and move on.

But the treacherous little voice in her head keeps whispering to her,  _What if they keep doing it?_

In the face of that, she can't help the overwhelming hurt. It's as if something is broken inside her, but nothing as simple as a bodily wound that she can mend.

She usually burns that feeling off with physical activity, and she desperately wants to go out and destroy a training field or two—to feel the earth shatter and break beneath her, and watch solid rock become dust between her fingers. But that would attract attention and people wondering and she just needs…she needs to do something. To remind herself that she isn't useless. That she isn't the waif who cowers while Sasuke throws his body in front of her because she's too weak, useless and inferior to defend herself. She's no longer the damsel with snot and tears running down her face while Kakashi naively promises her that everything will be alright and Naruto vows to bring Sasuke back.

_I am_ not _that girl anymore,_ she growls to herself.

In that moment, she decides where she needs to be right now, and makes a determined beeline for the hospital. Upon arriving at her place of work, she takes a breath and, as always, lets the outside world slip away at the door. She strides into her office, where her intern, Ando glances up in surprise, and before he can ask why she's back so soon, she interrupts him.

"What's the next operation scheduled?"

"Uh…Isamu is doing a double kidney transplant on the dextocardiac patient in fifteen minutes—"

"I'm scrubbing in on that," she tells him. "He can have the next one."

"But—"

She strides out before he can complete his protest, heading for an operating room.

Sakura very rarely wields her influence to jump the queue on cases, but she needs to stay busy, and she thinks that today of all days she deserves to push her advantage a bit.

Over the course of several hours, she schedules procedure after procedure, taking the lead on the most complex and challenging cases—the ones that need her constant presence and attention. In the midst of her work, she's able to forget the uncertainty, and hurt, the memory of the useless child she was. Here, she is head medical ninja of Konoha, disciple of a Legendary Sannin and a hero of the Fourth Shinobi War in her own right. She battles with death every day and, more often than not, wins. People here look up to her, defer to her knowledge, and listen to her recommendations.

Naruto, of course, finds her soon enough, being as meddling as ever. While Sakura walks across the courtyard to consult on a possible case of Chakra Virus, he appears in front of her, determined and repentant.

"Sakura, I'm sorry. I swear, we didn't—"

"I'm working, Naruto," she tells him flatly and keeps walking. "Please leave."

"But you need to listen!"

"I  _need_  you to respect my wishes," she replies. "Since it's clear you don't respect anything else."

"That's total bullshit and you know it!" Naruto yells, frustration and worry in his voice. For once, though, her immediate reaction isn't to try to calm him. "Just because of this one thing—"

Sakura turns around then, her hand snapping out and grabbing Naruto by the collar of his jacket.

"This is my place of work," she growls, a flare of anger bleeding through the carefully constructed façade of business she's lost herself in for a few hours. "I am saving lives right now, and I don't have time for your interruptions while people could be dying. Now, leave on your own, or I will break every one of your bones so thoroughly that even with your healing abilities, you'll still be stuck on bed-rest for a month."

She experiences a minor burst of gratification at the way Naruto goes pale beneath his whiskers and vanishes in an instant, but it doesn't make her feel any better. Like his apologies, his misery feels hollow to her and does nothing to satisfy the hurt.

When she returns to her wing of the hospital, she gives Ando and all the other staff warnings that she's not to be disturbed by friends or family while she works. It's not the first time she's ordered this, so they don't argue. She has a trusted support network among her colleagues, all of whom know better than to question her at this point.

While cleaning up after a successful limb-reattachment, a new intern that she doesn't know very well approaches her.

"Sakura-sensei, the Hokage requires your presence," she tells her shyly.

Sakura says nothing and reaches for the nearest chart and begins to glance over the particulars for her next case.

"Should I tell him you're on your way?"

"No."

"Oh…um…so, you'll be a little late?"

"No."

"Oh." She pauses. "What...what should I tell him?"

"Nothing."

The girl isn't quite sure what to say about that, but Sakura glances up and says, "That'll be all, Wakana. You have rounds."

She barely registers the intern's puzzled expression as she heads off to her next appointment.

For another seventy-two hours straight, Sakura pushes herself from one procedure to another, elbow-deep in blood and viscera one moment, or painstaking research and experiments in the skills lab the next. She survives on caffeine and soldier pills, focussed on the problems she can solve. She doesn't have to think about her injured heart while healing a broken pelvis.

Of course, she knows she can't go on like this.

Eventually, she starts to feel the exhaustion of using so much brain power and chakra without a respite. Even though she has a large reserve and could conceivably go on for days, it's irresponsible to do so outside of a combat situation. Besides, being at work is no longer distracting her the way it should. Her thoughts and worries are beginning to bleed back through, and she knows she'll have to face them sooner or later. Kakashi will only accept her ignoring his summons so many times, and Naruto won't be deterred by her threat much longer.

Truthfully, she's surprised she hasn't seen him at all since their encounter days ago. She suspects Kakashi might be keeping him from bothering her because he at least understands the need for space.

Ando eventually makes the vague, roundabout suggestion that she head home to sleep and relax—he curbs his usual bluntness by not telling her that she smells, though she suspects she really should shower soon—and Sakura finds herself giving in. She's too tired to argue, apparently.

As she leaves the hospital, she pauses, dim and sluggish, too tired to think too much. It's why she's pretty sure that she's dreaming when she notices a familiar figure waiting across the street.

Sasuke leans against the building opposite the hospital, a living shadow on an otherwise bright and cheerful street. And she instantly knows he's waiting for her, even though he's never done so before.

It should bother her that he's watching her, looking as unruffled and untouchable as always. And she's probably got circles under her eyes, the remnants of caked-on makeup, and she doesn't remember if she brushed her hair or teeth this morning. But somehow, it doesn't really matter to her right now, the way it once would have. It's still the most natural thing in the world for her to change her course and head toward him. His presence doesn't erase her exhaustion or her inner turmoil, but it does cause a fluttering sensation or anticipation in her stomach.

After stewing in her self-constructed isolation for a few days, she'll take it.

サクラ

The closer she gets to Sasuke, the more effort Sakura makes to muster up a smile. As mentally and physically tired as she is, she will never  _not_  be overjoyed to see him. Besides, it's not as if he's the type to notice that sort of thing anyhow.

Once they are within several feet of each other, though, his eyes flit across her face and he frowns. "You look tired."

For all the blunt delivery, she senses an undertone of concern in his voice. This more than anything makes her smile more genuine.

"I'm fine," she waves it off. "I worked a few doub—er,  _triple_  shifts. It's nothing I haven't done before." He raises an eyebrow at this, and she insists, "I just need to have something real to eat and a short nap. Then I'll be good to go for another straight week, if I have to." She hopes her boast doesn't sound as manic to him as it does to her. When he doesn't remark on it, she decides it didn't. "It's nice to see you," she says a beat later. "You look…I mean…how are you?"

"Fine." He doesn't elaborate, but she didn't really expect him to.

The silence hangs awkwardly between them.

"Was there something you needed?" she asks after half a minute of this. As cheered as she is by his presence, she knows from experience that Sasuke doesn't come to see her unless there's something he needs from her. He's not the sentimental type, after all. With him it's function and duty above everything.

"Kakashi and Naruto are concerned about you," Sasuke states. "You've been avoiding them."

Sakura tenses at this. Instantly, a bolt of pain shoots through her heart. Of course, Sasuke wouldn't come to see her of his own volition, but because Naruto or Kakashi asked him to. That phantom pain is quickly backed by a stab of annoyance that her former teammates got him involved. It was exactly what she was hoping to avoid.

"It's been busy at work," she dismisses. "I can't always get away when I'm in the operating room, you know." She begins to walk away. For once, she half-hopes he won't follow her. When he does, she can't decide if she's irritated or not.

Still, she doesn't want to talk about her issues with Naruto and Kakashi with him, especially not considering what they stem from. Instead, she goes on to relay what she's spent her day doing, explaining all the procedures she carried out and the injuries she healed. Her enthusiasm is half-genuine, half-manic, and she doesn't dare take a breath. For the first time since they were kids, she takes advantage of his silence just to fill it, trying to make it seem like she's not upset.

They wander down the street together, separated by barely two feet. Normally, she'd be over the moon about this, thrilled to spend time with him and bask in his attention, but the sour feeling in her stomach won't abate. The pretence that everything is all right is like a fog, and she barely takes in any of their first walk together. She's not even sure where they're headed, simply following her feet.

Does Sasuke think she's bringing them in somewhere in particular? If he does, he'll soon realise she has no destination in mind, and leave. Maybe she should let him know it's all right to leave if he wants to. She stops them, ready to do just that, opening her mouth—

And then abruptly shuts it as their surroundings become clearer to her.

The entrance to Konoha's graveyard looms behind them, the summer breeze rustling the neatly trimmed grass around the monuments. Sakura blinks, and then blurts out in genuine confusion, "Did I bring us here, or did you?"

Sasuke doesn't reply, instead gazing among the distant rows with an unreadable expression. It looks like her attempts at deflection didn't distract him after all. She mentally scrambles to play down the whole affair.

"Sasuke…you don't have to… It's fine. I don't want to make this a bigger deal, especially considering…everything.  _Ugh_. They shouldn't have gotten you involved—"

"They should have told you," he interrupts. It's so surprising that her mouth snaps closed with a click, her eyes flitting toward his face. There's an irritated expression there, but she has a presentment that it's not directed at her. "I understand why they didn't, but they should have. Out of everyone…you should have been someone who knew."

"I…" She doesn't actually know what to say to that. Her eyes feel tight, and there's a tickle in her nose that suggests oncoming tears, but for the first time all day it's not hurt or anger that makes her want to cry. The fact that Sasuke of all people would say this to her…

"Thank you," she manages finally. "Coming from you that…that means so much."

He shoots her a funny look, like he doesn't understand why.

"You're one of the saviours of the world," she reminds him. "If you don't think I'm too weak to handle the truth, they have no excuse either."

"You're not weak, Sakura," he tells her, turning to face her. "You're the strongest person I know."

Blood rushes to her cheeks, making them burn, and Sakura tries to untangle her tongue to respond to that. On the one hand she knows that can't be true, because they've both witnessed what Naruto can do. But on the other hand, Sasuke has never been dishonest with her. He has never told her anything that he didn't truly believe. He isn't a man of tact, or the type to spare another person's feelings. If he said it, he must think it's true.

"Next time, punch Naruto instead," he goes on, as if he commented on something as factual as the weather. "Preferably before he becomes Hokage, so it won't cause another civil incident."

"I didn't cause a civil incident _this_  time."

"You did enough to merit my usual ANBU detail suddenly making a beeline for the Hokage's office."

She bristles, but it's more at the notion that even though he's long been cleared of his crimes, Sasuke still isn't completely free while at home. Kakashi said it was a temporary measure until people are more used to seeing him around the village, but it seems counterproductive to her.

_If people knew the whole truth, would that be any different?_ Now that she knows, it's even more unjust. Maybe that's yet another reason they didn't tell her.

Sakura clenches her fists as her thoughts come full circle.

"How do you do it?" she asks eventually, staring through the entrance again at the beautifully polished memorial stone. Flowers and incense offerings are arranged around it as always. Sasuke doesn't answer, but she senses his gaze upon her; the silence rings like a question. "Knowing the truth. Knowing what it cost, and them still hiding it?"

She wouldn't blame him if he chose not to answer, but after a beat he exhales heavily.

"I would rather the Uchiha be remembered as loyal to the village that Itachi loved than be remembered for plotting against it," he says at last.

"No. Not that. That I…I understand. I hate it, but I understand it."

Sasuke digests this, and then prompts, "Then do what?"

"How do you forgive people you care about for keeping the truth from you?" she asks. "People you trust and love and who you know just want to protect you. But by doing that, they make you hurt worse and feel…insignificant." It sounds pitiful when said out loud like that, especially in comparison to everything else, but Sakura was never able to just cast aside her feelings, however mundane.

This time Sasuke's silence is quiet and conteomplative, instead of confused. When he answers her, he sounds uncomfortable, "I'm not the right person to ask that."

"You're the only person that I trust right now who would know," she tells him seriously, finally looking up at him. She's startled to find that he's already watching her— _how long has he been doing that?_ —but then abruptly looks away again.

"Hold on to the knowledge that they really want what's best for you," he tells her simply.

"That's it?"

"You could cut yourself off from everyone, but that's not a path for everyone."

Sakura scowls at him. If she didn't know him better, she'd assume he was attempting to be humorous. Then she sighs, letting go of some of the tension that's been holding her together the past few days, and looks back at the memorial stone.

"I feel crippled," she confesses. "Like, if they had said something, that all this time, I could've been doing something to make sure the past doesn't repeat itself."

"You are."

"Huh?"

"Was that not the purpose of the children's mental health clinic?" he asks. "To ensure what happened to Naruto and Kakashi and myself wouldn't happen again?"

"Well, yes, but—"

"Then you are," he affirms with something resembling finality in his voice.

_Discussion over, I guess._  She marvels a little at how Sasuke can see the world in such simple terms when it comes to certain situations, while in others, he operates with logic that she can't even follow.  _Probably the same complex logic that had Itachi do what he did,_ she thinks, half-saddened and half-impressed.

She considers the memorial stone in the distance again, and the way Sasuke is lingering beside her, and then something occurs to her.

"Did you…are you going in?" she asks. "Do you want to be alone for that? I mean, if you're leaving again soon, you probably want to say goodbye alone."

"I…won't be leaving right away, as it turns out," he says, and there's a strange waver in his voice she doesn't think she's heard before. "Kakashi asked me to test Konoha's barrier for weaknesses. My dōjutsu makes me the best candidate for it."

"Oh," she says. "Well, that's nice! So, you'll be around a little longer, right?"

"A few days, at least."

She beams at him.

"I'm happy to hear that," she says. "Maybe I'll see you around then. I mean, around the village. When I'm not at work, of course."

"Hm." He seems very at ease now, losing some of his distance, and the old hopeful part of her, the one that refuses to give up, decides to test her luck.

"And…maybe we could…get something to eat?" she suggests. When his eyes slide to her, she quickly adds, "Something that's  _not_  ramen. There's a new restaurant in town that does hamburgers. Have you ever had them? What am I saying? You probably have." She laughs nervously.  _Oh gods, someone make me stop talking!_ "Or if you're not hungry, maybe we could just…go for a walk? Today was—" She makes a face. "Well, it was depressing. But the end was nice. Maybe we could do that again sometime and just catch up. I'm sure you saw some amazing things when you were travelling, and I'd love to hear the stories…that you could tell me…I know most of it's classified, but—"

"We could spar," he suggests.

The rest of Sakura's sentence dies in her throat, and she blinks. "Huh?"

"Before I left, you asked if we could spar," he says quietly, not looking at her. In fact, he seems very interested in something directly in front of him.

It takes her several seconds to understand what he's talking about, before she remembers a conversation they had right before he left Konoha.

"I've heard accounts of some of the techniques you're capable of using in combat. I'm curious to see if I could counter them," he goes on. His eyes slide to her. "If you're not busy at the hospital, of course."

Excitement courses through her, replacing the dolorous emotions of the past few days, because Sasuke has  _never_  asked to spar with her. She quickly adopts a serious, confident expression, smirking at him. "You're going to get your ass handed to you."

Sasuke snorts.

"We'll see about that next time," he tells her, reaching over and poking her forehead with his index and middle finger. Then he turns and starts to walk away, leaving her staring after him in confused elation. "And if you're going to kill him, try not to do it so close to the cemetery."

"Huh?" she asks, reaching up to touch the place where his fingers brushed her skin. Sasuke's been doing that a lot since the end of the war, apparently his way of showing affection. She tries not to read too much into it that she's never seen him do that to Naruto or Kakashi.

"Sakura!"

Her blushing musings come to an abrupt, crashing end as a familiar voice shatters the sombre silence of the cemetery.

Within a blink of an eye, Naruto skids to a halt in front of her, face sweaty and red from exertion, shoulders heaving as he pants for breath.

Sakura frowns in speculation, gazing at the spot where Sasuke just stood, and where Naruto has appeared. If they were still genin, she might suspect Naruto of engineering some kind of trick on her—masquerading as Sasuke to gauge her mood before approaching her. Except…the things that Sasuke said to her were too personal and too specific for Naruto know about. Even if he were pretending, he wouldn't think to say those things.

_So, the timing is just_ really _coincidental_ _…_

Suddenly, Sasuke's words make sense and a rare jab at annoyance for her  _other_  former teammate pricks at her. He probably felt Naruto coming this way and decided to leave them to talk. Sakura wonders if it's actually a good thing that Sasuke is more aware of the world now than he was when they were kids. He never used to care if she and Naruto were fighting.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I am  _so_  sorry!" Naruto wails, throwing himself on the ground in front of her and actually bending his head to the ground in  _dogeza_. "I will never do anything like that  _ever_  again, and I'll tell you everything I know from now on—except, well, things that I tell Hinata, because there's some stuff you can only tell your wife, you know? Well, no, you don't, because you don't have a wife—but everything else!"

"Maybe not  _everything_ ," a mild voice adds, and of course, Kakashi is standing nearby, appearing too swiftly and silently for her to notice. Unlike Naruto, he isn't prostrating himself on the ground, but he holds himself at a polite distance from her, as if waiting for permission to approach.

Naruto glances up at Kakashi, with a confused look, then his eyes go wide in understanding.

"Right! And except for some of the Hokage stuff, because I can't," he tells Sakura. "But other than that!" He then ducks his head toward the ground again. "And if I do it again, you can beat me until I can't move, or rip off my arm again, or…or force feed me  _vegetables_ , just as long as you forgive me _!"_

On anyone else, this would be irreverent and behaviour unbefitting of the crime, but she can hear the desperation in his voice, despite the hyperbole.

"Us," Kakashi corrects quietly. "Though it would be unseemly for your Hokage to get on his knees in front of a civilian."

"Yeah, right. You're just worried you'll break your back or something, old man," Naruto quips.

Sakura considers them both for a long moment, feeling as if her innards are churning. It's been days, but the wound of being kept in the dark is still fresh. She knows she's not ready to forgive them completely yet.

"Leaving a friend in the dark is the same as leaving them behind," she tells them in as neutral a voice as she can manage, trying to put her thoughts in order. Both men wince at the very personal implications behind that statement. "You know…you  _knew_  all I ever wanted was to stand beside you. To be acknowledged and treated like I was on the same level. Since I was a girl, I wanted that more than  _almost_  anything, and you…you both treated me like a child. No, worse—a  _stranger_  who wasn't trustworthy enough or mature enough to handle the truth."

"This particular truth has done more harm than good to those who know it," Kakashi responds quietly.

Sakura inclines her head, acknowledging the validity of that, but with no intention of letting him off with the official party line.

"When has holding back the truth ever done any of us favours?" she counters. "Was Naruto better off not knowing why the entire village hated him as a child?" Kakashi's jaw clenches beneath his mask. "Were you better or happier not knowing who your parents were?" she goes on, addressing Naruto directly as he slowly sits back on his haunches. "That was to protect you, right? Are you grateful to the people who kept that information from you?"

"That's…" Naruto begins, twin spots of angry colour burning in his cheeks.

"What about Sasuke? How much of his life was  _wasted_  hunting revenge over something he thought was truth…all because  _a certain someone_  was trying to protect him?"

"Those are all extreme examples, Sakura," Kakashi warns.

"Maybe. But they didn't start off that way. They all started with the simple need to protect someone. And in the end, the people who were supposed to be protected were busy hurting in the dark," she insists. She squares her shoulders. "I understand that my not knowing the truth about such a horrible situation isn't as serious as having an entire village hate you for something you can't control, but it was still a breach of trust. Especially because what you two and Sasuke think of me…it's always mattered more than what anyone else thought. And the idea that you don't trust me makes me feel physically sick."

She has to pause here, fighting a re-surging lump in her voice, uncertainty at being so direct once again making her falter a bit.

_Hold on to the knowledge that they really want what's best for you_ , Sasuke told her, and she does.

The seriousness of their behaviour is not diminished in any way, but she knows it wasn't done out of malice or calculated intent. In their ignorance, they continued a behaviour that she never clearly asked them to stop. They ought to have known better—Kakashi especially, being that he is usually more perceptive—but still they only wanted to keep her from unpleasant knowledge. She is not so petty or frail as to walk away from such a close friendship based on one indiscretion, but they have to know that she won't tolerate it again. Sakura looks up at the sky, carefully weighing her words, and the nods to herself.

"I  _won't_  be treated like wallpaper by you guys anymore," she vows, glaring at them both challengingly. Her eyes linger on Naruto. "I am your equal. Maybe I'm not the ancient reincarnation of a demigod like you or Sasuke…and maybe I didn't come back from the dead or master a thousand techniques like you, Kakashi-sensei." She nods at him. "But I am just as important. It's time you both acknowledged that in action and not just words."

Her sensei inclines his head at this, agreement written in his eyes.

"The three of us are the students of the Sannin—you, me and Sasuke," Sakura tells Naruto. "But more important than that, we're Squad 7. We're  _Kakashi's_  students. We've been a team since the bell test."

Naruto can't help a nervous, nostalgic chuckle at that.

"If I don't have all the information, I can't be an effective part of that team," Sakura concludes. "And when that information is something that's  _hurt_  a member of my team? A dear friend? What else can I imagine but those bonds weren't as strong as I thought they were?"

"No way!" Naruto cries. "You  _know_  how strong our bonds are, Sakura. We couldn't have done everything we did if it wasn't. Even  _before_  the war." He scrambles to his feet, gazing down at her with eyes softened by regret. "You've always been one of the people I care about most. The best thing that ever happened to me was being put on a team with you and Sasuke—and  _you_  were at least nice to be around. Sasuke and I would be dead a hundred times over if you hadn't been there keeping an eye out for us, even before you got all scary strong. And, yeah, sometimes we forget, but it's only because we love you. And you shouldn't have to worry about the hard stuff if you don't have to."

"That's not how it works, Naruto," she replies quietly. "We're adults now. We've lived through war. I know just as much as you do that the world isn't a very nice place. Do you think when I work in the hospital, all I do is prescribe medication and wave my hands over people and make them feel better? I have to sew up bloody wounds, and tell people they're dying—little kids who haven't even reached the Academy yet! Sometimes, I have to sign papers to remove children from abusive homes, or force poison into someone's system on the  _off_ -chance it might make them better. I have to operate on criminals just to make them fit enough to stand a trial where they will probably be executed  _anyway_. None of that is easy or good or right, but I have to do it."

She turns to Kakashi, who's been listening in silence and challenges, "Will you try to protect me from that, too?"

He sighs, shaking his head.

"You've made your point, Sakura. And I don't disagree. But some matters are more delicate than others. As your Hokage, all I can promise is that I will do everything legally possible to ensure proper information dispensing. As the highest-ranking member of the team that took out Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, you are entitled to be informed of relevant information on your comrades, and I'll ensure you have it as soon as possible," he tells her. A beat later, the official-sounding tone disappears in favour of something more sheepish than she's used to Kakashi using. "But as your former teacher, you'll have to forgive me if it takes a little longer to remember these things. For me, you three will always be my adorable students. I will always want to protect you."

"Okay, hold on. I know why that applies to Sasuke, but when was the last time you protected me?" Naruto scoffs.

"You haven't been arrested for any of the graffiti incidents yet," Kakashi points out.

"…right."

"It's a start," Sakura acknowledges, too used to the by-play to pay it much attention. "I can  _accept_  that it's a start."

His eyes crinkle in a smile.

Sakura turns to Naruto and frowns at him. "If you ever pull something like this again—"

"I know, I know," Naruto interrupts, holding up his hands as if to stave off some invisible blow. "I got the message when you punted Kakashi-sensei through the window. You'll flatten me or turn me into a stain or paste or—"

"No," she says. "I won't.'

"You…you won't?"

"No."

"Oh." He looks confused.

"But I will never speak to you again," she informs him. The line is a childish one, something not out of place in the Academy courtyard, but the words ring with promise, the weight of the threat as edged as a declaration of war. "You, or Kakashi-sensei. And I'll put in for a transfer to another village."

She turns to Kakashi now, raising an eyebrow as though waiting for him to protest, but he simply looks thoughtful.

"There are a lot of places in the world that need talented medic-nin. I'm already doing them a disservice by staying here in Konoha when I could be out there helping the people who need it. We aren't at war anymore, so I'm not bound to serve Konoha's interests alone, but the well-being of  _all_  people in the world," she explains. "If it turns out that I'm not trusted here by my friends and comrades, or by my own superiors…" She shrugs. "Kankuro's been trying to get me to come to work for the hospital in Suna for months now. I've been considering a temporary exchange for the good of the hospital's teaching program, but I can easily make that permanent. And Karui tells me that the Raikage is conducting interviews for a new chief of staff at the hospital in Kumo."

"But…but you can't," Naruto looks perplexed. "You're a  _Konoha_ -nin."

"My life doesn't depend on this village, no matter how much I love it," Sakura says. "And with all the work the Kage are doing to promote trust between the villages, it's not so difficult to travel these days. Honestly, I might still leave to travel the world for a little, someday. But my coming  _back_  will depend entirely on what kind of village is waiting for me."

She let's that sink in, and from Naruto's chagrined expression, she knows he's taking her seriously.

"This will always be your home," he tells her, "and I promise, I'll make it a village—no,  _a city_ —worth being proud of. There won't be any more secrets from you. Ever. Believe it!" And then, in a move she hasn't seen in  _years_ , he holds out arm in front of him, parallel to the ground, fist clenched. " _I promise_."

In her mind, an image from her memories—a short, stupid -looking kid with blond hair and an orange jacket—superimposes itself on the picture that Naruto makes now.

_I won't go back on my word_ _! T_ _hat's_ my  _ninja way!_

Sakura smiles, a little wistful, but without the bitterness of the past few days.

"Alright," she says. Then she turns serious again. "But it's still going to take some time. I'm still not happy about all this, and I haven't completely forgiven you yet. So, don't be surprised if I avoid you both for a little while because none of this is  _okay_."

"That's fine," Kakashi says. "We can be patient." Naruto groans, and he amends. " _I_  can be patient. And I can bury Naruto in enough paperwork that he's forced to be patient."

"Hey!"

"Don't think you can joke your way out of this," Sakura warns, shaking a finger at her former instructor. "We  _are_  going to talk about the situation with the Elders, because  _that_  is not going to continue. We owe it to Sasuke—we owe it to the entire village to untangle that particular snarl."

"No arguments from me!" Naruto grins. He rubs at his nose. "Hey, I have a great idea! How about, to seal this whole deal, we go get some ramen?"

"…You really don't understand the concept of giving people space, do you?" Sakura sighs.

"You're surprised by this?" Kakashi counters.

"I bet if I send a clone to grab Sasuke, he'll come with us," Naruto continues, apparently not hearing them. "It'll totally be like old times! And, hey, maybe Teuchi will extend my free ramen pass to you guys, too. I mean, you  _sort_ of helped me save the world, and it's the first time in ages we've been able to sit together, so maybe…"

Sakura allows Naruto's ramblings to wash over her. She wasn't lying when she said things were not completely forgiven. Trust is not something so easily regained with a few words. She suspects it will be months, perhaps years before she can be around them without a modicum of doubt rising up, whispering to her that they still think she's weak.

But Sasuke thinks she's strong.

And more importantly than any of that, she  _knows_  she's strong. She will get through this.

And she'll show Kakashi and Naruto just how serious she is tomorrow when she demands a formal investigation into corruption on the part of the Elders. It's sure to stir up conflict among the village's government, but if there's anything Sakura's teammates have taught her, it's that change doesn't happen unless someone makes trouble.

Naruto was the pest that made people believe. Sasuke, the menace that made them forgive.

_Let's see what I become_ , she thinks to herself with a confident smirk, following the two men away from the cemetery.

終わり

**Author's Note:**

> _Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome! I'm only able to keep writing as I do thanks to the encouragement of readers like you, so every bit of support helps! And be sure to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu) for content you won't necessarily find on this site._
> 
> **栗**


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